US Navy Helicopter Squadron Leader Killed After MH-60S Crash in Arabian Sea
The officer had been missing since the 1 July incident in which the Seahawk utility helicopter made an emergency water landing. The commander of a US Navy helicopter squadron has been declared killed in action in the Middle East. Commander Gabriel Edwards was a rotary-wing pilot and the commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, embarked with the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush . Edwards had been missing since 1 July, when his Sikorsky MH-60S Sea Hawk made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea. Three other US Navy personnel aboard the helicopter were rescued shortly after the ditching. The effort to locate and recover Edwards was called off after more than four days of searching, the navy now says. The cause of the emergency is not yet known and remains under investigation. Edwards had accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours over his naval aviation career, according to the navy. HSC 5 is part of the navy’s Carrier Air Wing 7, which is currently operating from the Bush in the Arabian Sea. The carrier departed its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, in March for the regularly scheduled deployment. The MH-60S is a utility and fleet support helicopter that is distinct from Sikorsky’s MH-60R variant, which is equipped for anti-submarine warfare.